New Member New Garage

[LeeBoy]

Hey everyone. I've been a member for a while but haven't posted only because I have been planning and getting ideas for my new garage. I would like to thank everybody for all the good information. It has helped tremendously.
I origanally wanted to build a 40X40 but my property is only 50X150 so I was told no way. So I had to settle for a 30X28, and I had to beg to get that.
First I'm having my electrical service in the house upgraded to 200 amp with 100 amp in the garage. The slab will be 6" with radiant heat run by an electric water heater. 2X6 walls with treated sill plate. R-19 in the walls and R-38 in the ceiling. 12' ceiling for a four post lift. Two 9X8 garage doors. The interior walls will be covered with white steal sidding and have 9 high output florescent lights on the ceiling. The final price was about $41 per sq/ft. That is for everything including the 200 amp service and finishing the inside of the garage.
The contractor started today(11/9/06). This is what was accomplished today. I will keep updating as it progresses.

 

[Itzkwik]

Looks good. Keep the pictures coming.

 

[bmwpower]

What will you be doing with the floor?

 

[LeeBoy]

I had thought about coating the floor with epoxy but I will be doing alot of welding and restoration work and I don't want to end up chipping it or burning it so I will be just sealing it.

 

[Kevin54]

When they pour the floor, have them burnish it real well with the power trowel.

Kevin

 

[LeeBoy]

I talked with the contractor yesterday and told him I want the floor to be very very smooth almost like glass. He said he wouldn't quit until it was.

 

[JMURiz]

Question, how do you keep the floor from cracking as it cures? Mine was smooth but now has some hairline cracks...I'm guessing due to the curing process.
Can you just fill these in before the epoxy goes on?

 

[PAToyota]

Hairline cracks are shrinkage cracks - very difficult to eliminate them completely, but it helps to keep the slab moist for at least seven days. We had a few projects where we'd put down burlap and then plastic and keep things damp for two weeks when it was critical.

 

[boiler7904]

To add to what PAToyata said, temperature during the cure is important too. Going into winter, concrete being poured needs to be covered during it's cure with insulated concrete blankets, straw, or some combination of the two.

 

[LeeBoy]

11/14/06 The weather here hasn't been steller, but the guys are making headway. They hope to pour the concrete on Friday. They are doing a new sidewalk in the front of the house as well. The electrician is installing the 200 amp service tomorrow.

 

[DynoDave]

I fought the weather all through October, and some this month too. So I can sympathize. Glad to see you/they are still pressing ahead.

 

[LeeBoy]

11/15/06 The 200 AMP service was installed in the house today. The weather turned out to be good. I hope it is Friday for the concrete.

 

[LeeBoy]

11-23-06 The contractor installed my floor drain and got the concrete poured on the 21st. They started at 8 in the morning and didn't finish power troweling untill 9 that night. He came back the next morning and put a super smooth finish on it and then sealed it. He won't be back to start framing until wednesday the 29th due to the holiday and monday and tuesday being the start of buck season here. More pictures to follow as it progresses.

 

[Down Under Bloke]

That floor drain looks a little strange to me; two concerns; the size of the drain and piping may weaken the slab and the height difference at the drain looks like a trip hazard.

Clearly the temperature slows down the curing time of the concrete, do they use any add mixtures etc to cope with that. I worked on a house once where the concrete was poured at 7am and by noon we where walking on the slab and setting out the walls. If you twisted your foot on the slab it would make a slight scuff on the surface but even that was gone by the time the walls where up.

 

[LeeBoy]

The drains are the same as the one's used in a local trucking company’s garage and have been in for ten years with no negative results. Hopefully mine will be ok. They’re located directly in front of where my doors will be and are recessed about 3/4 of an inch so water will flow in and not pool around them. They are about four feet long each.
The aggregate company put a chemical accelerator in to help with the curing of the concrete and to keep it from freezing. The day the concrete was poured I arrived home from work at 8PM, the temperature was about 31 degrees with frost on the ground. The contractor had been on the pad since 2:00 that afternoon and it was poured at 8AM. One of the pictures shows the contractor the next morning putting the final finish on the concrete; my wife found it commical because there was a heavy frost that night and everything was white. The finish is very nice. I am happy with it.

 

[Down Under Bloke]

Yep I see; the grills are out of the drains in the pictures, 3/4 of an inch shouldn't be an issue.

Man 31f that's -0.5c, that explains the in slab heating, anything under 64f /18c is cold to me .

 

[volvo]

Question... Ok that pic of your cement contractor using a long power tool with what looks like an outboard motor on it. What is this tool and what dose it do?? Is there something inside the long metal angle iron ??
It looks like a power screeter/float tool to me , but I have never seen one before. Looks cool and real a labor saver by the lack of help runnung around.
Thanks Howard

 

[LeeBoy]

Volvo, I will ask the contractor about that on wednesday when he comes back. I had to work the day the concrete was poured. Luckily my wife was home to take the photos.
Down Under Bloke, 31 degrees is cold but it does get into the negative temps here in the winter.

 

[EvilEye]

You have a very good start. Framing will go up in a day or 2 ( deer season doesn't count ).

You will be very glad you put the heat in the floor I am enjoying my first cold season with the garage fully finished, and the radiant heat in the floor is great.

How far north in central pa are you?? I am just NE of harrisburg.

 

[MyDomain]

Sweet, radiant heat! If I had it to do over again I would have at least roughed in the pex. What will you be using to heat the radiant water?

Greetings from South Central PA, just southeast of HBurg.

 

[EvilEye]

I have a 40 gal hot water heater, using a closed loop system. When I am not working in the garage, I set the themostat to about 40 degees. If I know I'll be in the garage for the weekend Friday evening turn it up to about 60 degrees and the circulator kicks in a few hours later the floor temp is mostly up in the 55-65 degree range.

 

[bmwpower]

This picture reminds me when I was a kid and I used to watch the excavators, bulldozers, etc. at construction sites. I could watch them all day.

You've got a good start there. It looks like you have some enthusiastic masons too... not too common these days.

Good luck!

 

[LeeBoy]

EvilEye, I am about 30 miles south of the NY state border; according to map quest you are about 140 miles south of me. Nice to see some home state folks on the board. I hope the framing doesn't take to long, I have my vehicles scatered around the neighborhood in neighbors and familys garages and they are hoping to get their garages back before the snow flies and as you know it will come at any time now.
MyDomain, Greetings to you as well. For the radiant heat I will be using a 50 gallon water heater.
Bmwpower, Thanks for the kind words; I have followed your garage project since finding the old garage junkies site and used it for many ideas when planning my own. I have two sons ages 7 and 4 and they enjoy watching all the construction very much and tell me constantly how excited they are to help me work on my projects when the garage is finished.

 

[PAToyota]

Looks good! I put the PEX in the slab when I poured - still haven't gotten around to getting a boiler and setting that up...

Sounds like I'm pretty close to EvilEye. Have a friend up Piketown Road from Linglestown.

 

[rt66jt]

Question... Ok that pic of your cement contractor using a long power tool with what looks like an outboard motor on it. What is this tool and what dose it do?? Is there something inside the long metal angle iron ??
It looks like a power screeter/float tool to me , but I have never seen one before. Looks cool and real a labor saver by the lack of help runnung around.
Thanks Howard

You are correct, that is a power screed. As it screeds, it vibrates. The board is actually pretty light weight for its size.

 

[volvo]

You are correct, that is a power screed. As it screeds, it vibrates. The board is actually pretty light weight for its size.

rt66jt.. Thank you....H

 

[LeeBoy]

11/29/06 Construction has begun. They have all the framing done. Tomorrow they will be putting on the sheathing and the trusses. The clean up crew was doing a great job.

 

[quarterstang86]

Looks to be coming along nicely, will be nice once complete for the size: Did the choice of 2x6's for the walls end up being a mandation for the weight of the snow or the additional height over most common stick structures (12ft) ceiling height vs (8ft or so)

 

[DynoDave]

It's looking great LeeBoy. I bet you're anxious to get moved in there.

 

[snorvet]

looks great! that floor is going to be toasty

 

[twostory]

Lee Boy,

I noticed there are no door frame headers. What will support the load above the garage door?

 

[LeeBoy]

Lee Boy,

I noticed there are no door frame headers. What will support the load above the garage door?

I asked the same question. The contractor said since the wall is not load bearing it wasn't necessary.

 

[twostory]

I asked the same question. The contractor said since the wall is not load bearing it wasn't necessary.

After the roof trusses are up, it will probably make sense. He is correct, if there is not load bearing, then headers are not necessary.

 

[cdrewferd]

Looking really good so far. Hope that they get it dried in soon for you.

 

[LeeBoy]

11/30/06 Here is the progress as of noon today.

 

[LeeBoy]

11/30/06 This is where there were at by 3:00 PM.

 

[quarterstang86]

Looking good LeeBoy - any information regarding my post above?

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=70742&postcount=28

 

[LeeBoy]

Looking good LeeBoy - any information regarding my post above?

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=70742&postcount=28

Thanks quarterstang, I've waited a long time for this . The 2X6 construction is for structural strength as well as more R value insulation.

 

[LeeBoy]

Monday 12/04/06 Here are some pictures from Friday and today. These guys are amazing. Friday they got all the sheething on, wrapped and the tar papered the roof even though we had a severe storm, they worked right through the rain. Today they did the sofit and trim and installed one of the windows. Tomorrow I believe they are doing the shingles, the other two windows and possibly running wire and installing insulation. Wednesday the siding is going on.

 

[ersatzs2]

Fantastic Progress, hat's off! It's going to be a great space. I am already really regretting not prepping for radient heat. In my eagerness to get as large a project as possible permitted on my small in-town site, I overlooked the 'trickle down' impact of size on budget. Not sure with temps dropping like they are that I wouldn't trade 400sf of floor space for radiant heat and insulation!